"Ukuleles for Ukraine" - Cherkasy, Ukraine

As I was mentioning visiting Ukraine on these Ukulele Road Trips, a cunning and professional senior advisor of mine (my little sister) mentioned "Ukuleles for Ukraine" to me. Ukuleles for Ukraine is a non-profit organisation that aims to provide basic supplies, as well as colourful ukuleles to orphanages in the Cherkasy region. And she said I should get in touch. She has great ideas. So I did.

The Ukuleles for Ukraine project saw two musical westerners, Quinn and Mark, travel to Ukraine in April 2015, after a period of fundraising. Collaborating with local associations, they were able to provide supplies and joyful stringed little rainbows (ukes of course!) to orphanages in the Cherkasy region. Nearing this very region, I got in touch with them, and soon after, I was setting foot in the city of Cherkassy myself... at 5am. Slowly waking up, I phoned up Sasha, one of their contacts, a volunteer of the local non-profit Humanitarian Ukrainian Initiative, and we set off! In his exciting red ride, a flashy Zaporozhets, the great communist classic, if you're interested in these kind of details... 

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Early arrival, sweet ride, and ukulele-curiousity as we unbox the ukes before the lesson

There are over 50 (fifty!) orphanages in the region of Cherkasy. And I ended up visiting a few of those with Sasha. The economical situation is dire and not only orphans are taken in charge. Certain families send their children to these institutions, not being being able to provide for them themselves. Some children are hosted because of medical conditions, the medicine for which is too expensive for their families to buy and is provided to children in these institutions.

One thing these kids have all in common though, they are disarmingly joyful and enthusiastic! It was a real pleasure giving ukulele and music lessons (well, trying to anyway) to these bright lovely children.

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Three pics from three different Oprhanages of the Cherkasy region

I've put here together a little video of the few bits of footage I had of these visits. A little peak into the lessons and songs the backpacking Ukulele Road Trips were lucky to share with these kids. Little uke songs and kazoo solos had the rooms filled with smiles. But I still feel I'm really the lucky one, having spent this quality time with such genuine and wonderful children.

Read great stories of people just like you, who one day decided to make a difference, here on the UHI's website.

You can support the Ukuleles for Ukraine initiative here. And their short documentary should be out soon! I'll keep an eye out for you and post the link here when it's online. Little side note, all donations go towards buying supplies for the kids, and the non-profit is actively looking for volunteers! You could schedule a little life-changing experience for the coming months...

Sea, Stairs, Stares, see? - Odessa, Ukraine

After an eventful few days and a bumpy bus ride, I made to Odessa, Ukraine. I had no idea what to expect. As always, the extent of my research was having a quick look at a map and thinking "Yeah, why not".

Great weather graced my stay in this great city. The Potemkin Stairs, leading down to the Harbour.

The first evening spent there would be one of night-time wandering. Having quickly dropped off my backpack, I walked to the CLINGS and CLONGS from the noisy and central Odessa Harbour, through the soothing calmness of a city asleep... and finally, to the sunrise in the early hours. These just might have inspired a ukulele melody, recorded a few days later, at 3.am on the famous Potemkin stairs. Here sandwiched between a bit of Odessa-touring, for your convenience.

Of course there is much more to Odessa than pieces of stone that help you down from the center to the Harbour. For a start, historically, it is a city which was thriving during the XIXth century through the likes of Catherine The Great and Frenchman Richelieu, the special guests featured in the video above. A century which is clearly showcased by the beautiful buildings in the center of the city. Not only that, it is also, quite simply put, a very nice place.

Odessa has got it's own special identity in the country. First and foremost it is the great Sea-city, with its own heritage, its own non-official t-shirt (the blue sailor-striped top). It also has its own charachter, a mix of many nationalities sailing in and out for more than two-hundred years. And lastly its own absurd and bity humour, which can be explained by the a stong jewish community in the XIXth century. I din't get the humour though. Or anything anybody said, my Russian being exactly like most people's English here: non-existent.

- Support these Ukulele Road Trips by receiving a postcard from Ben -

As you can "sea" above, even though the center's Potemkin stairs lead down to the busy port, a short bus-ride can lead you to enjoyable beaches. And if you weren't lucky enough to catch anything with your bare hands, you can drop by the big Privoz market and get a few dried fish for your afternoon snack. I'm off for lunch.

Stefan cel Mare - Chisinau, Moldova

There is a person you cannot miss in Moldova. For starters, he is on every single bill you will use here. And he is still today an important part of the Moldovan identity as a whole. His name: Stefan cel Mare. Here is his story:

You might have noticed, I mention Stefan building monasteries, in the middle of the song. Well, it turns out (narrative alert!) some of those are the ones I visited in Bucovina (see Bucovina blog post Here). Their paint is fading but the symbol Stefan cel Mare's in today's Republic of Moldova is going strong. His extremely long reign and political flair gave stability to the Kingdom of Moldova for the centuries to come, and as a reward, Steeve gets his face on the Lei, the local currency. Or, in this picture, on my tenor ukulele.

Stefan on my tenor Uke

History, eh? Great stuff. But shouldn't I share a bit of every day Moldovan culture with you as well? Like, for example a TV show? That would be a great idea! The fact that a ukulele-playing backpacker traveling through Europe and writing songs was the guest, has here nothing to do with it. I just thought you might enjoy a fun Moldovan chat/cooking show. 

This is Part 3. If you want more cooking ideas and such, here are Part 1 and Part 2.

And on this (musical and culinary) note, a big thank you to Moldova(ns), and a "see you soon" in the next country Ukulele Road Trips ventures to.

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Last musical moments in Chisinau. Before the road leads me further East still.